After her recent Tony-winning turn in the play “Prima Facie” and finally bringing Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” into theaters after a late-act distributor switcheroo last year, British star Jodie Comer is keeping very busy indeed. The Emmy-winning “Killing Eve” star will next appear in a pair of hot new films from lauded directors, but before that, she was on hand at this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival to accept the fest’s Etoile Award.
As part of the honor, Comer spent an hour last Sunday morning talking through her career (so far) in front of a rapt and excited crowd at the SCAD Museum of Art. The chat was moderated by yours truly, and the generous Comer happily and astutely unpacked her work, how she got here, and what’s next. And, yes, that includes teasing two big film projects she has on the horizon.
Over the summer, she wrapped production on Danny Boyle’s much-anticipated zombie invasion sequel, “28 Years Later,” which she stars in alongside original series star Cillian Murphy, and newbies Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, and Erin Kellyman. She compared the experience on such big production to being as “immersive” as her one-day gig on the set of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” in which she has a small role as Rey’s mother.
Comer has also recently filmed Kenneth Branagh’s psychological thriller “The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde,” which the “Belfast” and “Thor” filmmaker wrote and directed from his own original story. It’s a pairing long in the making, as Branagh had originally cast Comer in his second Agatha Christie adaptation, “Death on the Nile,” though she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts in late 2019.
When asked about her ideal on-set experiences with directors and who has gotten closest to that ideal, Comer pointed to both Boyle and Branagh. “It’s funny, because I’ve had two amazing experiences this year, one was with Kenneth Branagh, who was the first director I’ve worked with who is [also] an actor. That was such a different experience,” she said. “He’s meticulous, he also has an understanding of what certain scenes require of you in certain moments, so there’s a sensitivity and an understanding, which is quite helpful. … He’s coming from that kind of heart space of ‘where is this coming from? where is the truth?’ He really wants to get to the bottom of it.”
She continued, “And Danny Boyle, oh, my God. I would work with Danny a million times over. He has a kind of real child-like enthusiasm and energy. Just watching him direct, he also directs from a very emotional place. We were working with a younger actor, and just seeing the way he communicated to him what he wanted, and just the energy on his set. … I like to be directed.”